Newly single and uninspired by his job in college admissions, the introverted Jesse Fisher (Josh Radnor) lives with his head buried in a book. His deep nostalgia for his own alma mater in Ohio - the dining halls and dorm rooms, the parties… MoreNewly single and uninspired by his job in college admissions, the introverted Jesse Fisher (Josh Radnor) lives with his head buried in a book. His deep nostalgia for his own alma mater in Ohio - the dining halls and dorm rooms, the parties and poetry seminars - makes him wonder if his best days are behind him. So when his favorite professor (Richard Jenkins) invites him back to campus to speak at his retirement dinner, Jesse jumps at the chance. Meeting Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen) - a precocious classical music-loving sophomore - awakens in Jesse long-dormant feelings of possibility and connection. -- (C) Official Site

Consensus:
While it's hard not to wish it had a little more bite, Liberal Arts ultimately succeeds as a good-natured -- and surprisingly clever -- look at the addictive pull of nostalgia for our youth.

Like Ted Mosby, Josh Radnor has a lot of thoughts about the pursuit of knowledge, the impetus of young love, and the sanctity of the written word. His dialogue… MoreLike Ted Mosby, Josh Radnor has a lot of thoughts about the pursuit of knowledge, the impetus of young love, and the sanctity of the written word. His dialogue rings like poetry, and his main character reminds us of the wistfulness of Holden Caulfield, the indifference of "The Graduate", and the romanticism of a Pablo Neruda poem. While Radnor wrote and directed very dreamy characters in a realm of stasis that we can all love easily, and grasp at bigger than life issues, there's just something off about this indie darling. We all must have groaned when we learned that the relationship at the crux of the film is between middle aged Radnor and co-ed Zibby (Olsen). While I believe it was handled with delicacy and thoughtfulness, the trope of the older man being quelled by the "manic pixie dream girl" has been done to death. The side story of the former mentor, played by Richard Jenkins, wasn't quite palatable. Jenkins' character serves as an antagonistic benchmark against the rest of the characters, but every time we see him deal with the complexities of remorse it was absolutely boring. The ending did have me swoon, but made me wonder what the point of Jesse's journey was? Was the moral that we shouldn't stay in the past, or possibly was it that we should chase our dreams? Radnor tries to argue for both points and in the end doesn't cover either succinctly. More time on certain relationships and issues would have created a better story.

Nicki Marie

35 year old guy falls for 19 year old girl, but feels it would be inappropriate to act on it. Cast are fantastic. It's a small movie and not overly… More35 year old guy falls for 19 year old girl, but feels it would be inappropriate to act on it. Cast are fantastic. It's a small movie and not overly eventful, but I really enjoyed it. This is the second of Josh Radnor's films I have seen, I have been really impressed. And also with Elizabeth Olsen as an actress. Worth a watch.

♥˩ƳИИ ƜѲѲƉƧ♥

<b><I>Liberal Arts</b></I> is smart, charming, funny, and well made. I really have like the two films Josh Radnor has put out. That… More<b><I>Liberal Arts</b></I> is smart, charming, funny, and well made. I really have like the two films Josh Radnor has put out. That being this film and HappyThankYouMorePlease. I think he did a great job with both films.
In this movie Jesse Fisher's Prof. from college is retiring and has invited him to his retirement party. When arriving he meets his prof. friends and their young daughter, Zibby, who is a sophomore at his old college. There is an instant connection between the two. They meet up later on that night after Jesse runs into Nat, (who Efron did such a great job at portraying) who drags him to a frat party. After meeting they exchange addresses and decide to stay in contact the old fashion way, by written letters. After quite a few of exchanged letters Zibby asks Jesse to come back to visit her. He does this without wanting anyone to know because Jesse isn't feeling too confident about the difference of his age of 35 and her age of 19. So when spotted by his old prof. Jesse panics and starts rethinking his decisions and choices he has made.
Jesse also meets a troubled soul named Dean. He sees how depressed he is and after learning about his earlier incident, he decides to be a friend to him.
Great acting by all. I really loved Nat though. Zac Efron was hilarious and made his character stand out.
I would love to watch this again.

Kal X. Attenborough

A surprisingly decent indie film revolving around different-age relationships, career second-guessing, and literature, lots of literature. However I still… MoreA surprisingly decent indie film revolving around different-age relationships, career second-guessing, and literature, lots of literature. However I still can't stop seeing that there's so much of Radnor's previous role of Ted Mosby in Jesse Fischer. Aside from Radnor sort of typecasting himself in his own feature film, Liberal Arts is also a medium for Elizabeth Reaser to prove wonderfully that she can actually act and that she wasn't just that vampire stepmother from Twilight.

KJ Proulx

A very effective drama about whether or not a 35 year old man should be a with a 19 year old girl. Honestly throughout the film they make you think it is okay… MoreA very effective drama about whether or not a 35 year old man should be a with a 19 year old girl. Honestly throughout the film they make you think it is okay and then turn it around and make you feel guilty for thinking that, but the chemistry between the two leads is phenomenal. I really really enjoyed my viewing of this film and it gave me a whole new perspective on how some people think and how they are motivated by other things. Overall, I think this is a very powerful film in the way it tries to get it's story across. "Liberal Arts" is one of those independent films that comes around ever couple years, that may not be amazing, but it will leave a warm feeling in your heart by the end. Highly recommended.

Alice Shen

Come on, Josh Radnor. You stripped away everything unique and heartwarming about "HappyThankYouMorePlease," leaving a pretentious, self-indulgent,… MoreCome on, Josh Radnor. You stripped away everything unique and heartwarming about "HappyThankYouMorePlease," leaving a pretentious, self-indulgent, third-life-crisis fantasy.
A 35-year-old admissions counselor (named "Jesse" of all things - that's not to knock all people named Jesse; it's just one of those hyper-cool Gen-X names that over-nostalgic writers throw in because they wish they'd been named Jesse) visits his alma mater and encounters a murder of college stereotypes: the mildly menacing, retirement-shy professor whom Jesse is called upon to honor; the GILF literature professor with whom he finally gets; the karate-chopping, Peruvian Hat-wearing (yes, that's what those knit hats with braided tassels are called) idiot savant (whom I was hoping would turn out to be a ghost); the suicidal wallflower with whom Jesse shares numerous veiled [insert suicidal author here] references; and of course, the Manic Pixie Dreamgirl, who is legitimately dreamy at first, owing to the portrayal by fresh-faced Elizabeth Olsen, but then grows uncharacteristically shrill and immature after Jesse spurns her advances.
All of these supporting characters serve to exalt Jesse, it seems. He may fuck up along the way, but his higher morals, or his heartfelt apology, or his heroic gesture saves the day and puts him on a pedestal. Jesse and Zibby's long distance letter-writing campaign is vague and bland due to the fact that they only write about classical music, and as Frank Zappa or Ted Mosby might say, "writing about music is like dancing about architecture," no matter how poetically waxed, which this really wasn't.
Honestly, the movie is just a bit too careful. Sam in "HTYMP" at least had an edge and owned his mistakes; Jesse is just too nice and not compelling.

Bathsheba Monk

Charming. I can't believe such a normal story got made although it looked like it went right to DVD. Anyway, in a swamp of demon-children movie it was a… MoreCharming. I can't believe such a normal story got made although it looked like it went right to DVD. Anyway, in a swamp of demon-children movie it was a breath of fresh air.

The Movie Waffler

There are two types of people who enroll in college; those who do so to invest in their future by developing skills and acquiring qualifications, and those who… MoreThere are two types of people who enroll in college; those who do so to invest in their future by developing skills and acquiring qualifications, and those who simply want to prolong their entry into the real world by a few years. Those belonging to the latter will be the most likely to submit to the charms of Radnor's film, a thinking man's version of the Rodney Dangerfield comedy "Back to School".
By portraying himself as irresistible to women (practically every female character hits on him at some point), Radnor treads a precarious path. Fortunately he's an amiable presence and unlike the male protagonists of movies like "The Brothers MacMullen" he doesn't complain about the fact that women are falling at his feet. Female viewers may look on him a tad more harshly but the fact is if he hadn't written the script himself it wouldn't be an issue so why make it one? That's not the only tightrope act Radnor performs. In many other hands his character might come across as pretentious but Radnor wisely avoids any cultural name-dropping. When he speaks enthusiastically about his favorite novel he never actually mentions it's title, therefore avoiding alienating a fraction of his audience.
The May to December romance he carries on with Olsen is one of the more realistic depictions we've had. Anyone who ever dated a college age girl will raise a smile at the scenarios portrayed. Particularly on the nose is a scene where a well-intending Olsen burns a CD of what she calls "obscure baroque music" for Radnor which turns out to be a collection of the most cliched pieces of classical music imaginable. Not wanting to hurt her feelings, Radnor plays along by writing her a letter in which he purports to have had his life changed by her selections "How about that Brandenburg Concerto?".
Cliches of romantic comedies are avoided, there's no outrageous gesture of affection in a public area, no cartoon villain rivaling Radnor for his affections. All the characters are likable, even Janney's bitchy and cynical English Professor. Jenkins gets our sympathies as the Professor who confesses to never feeling any older than nineteen and struggles to maintain a young mind in an aging body. Olsen is undoubtedly the best actress of her generation and burns the screen with her vitality. Efron isn't taken seriously by film snobs because he came from a background in musicals and I admit this is my first exposure to him but here at least he possesses a lot of charisma, playing the sort of character you would normally want to throttle.
Should you wish to avoid the real world for ninety-something minutes you could do worse than enrolling yourself in "Liberal Arts".

MisterYoda ?

three stars

Cynthia S.

A delightful story with good dialogue, and thought provoking situations about growing up, enjoying life, and growing old. Refreshing. Charming. Well done...

In "Liberal Arts," Jesse Fisher(Josh Radnor, who also writes and directs) is a 35-year old admissions counselor in the midst of early onset mid-life… MoreIn "Liberal Arts," Jesse Fisher(Josh Radnor, who also writes and directs) is a 35-year old admissions counselor in the midst of early onset mid-life crisis. So, he jumps at the opportunity to return to his alma mater in Ohio to attend the retirement party of Peter Hoberg(Richard Jenkins), his favorite professor, especially after the dreaded mine-or-yours talk with his now-ex-girlfriend. After dinner, Jesse is pointed in the general direction of a campus party by Nat(Zac Efron) where he chats up Zibby(Elizabeth Olsen) who he was introduced to previously in the day. Their conversation continues the following morning after Zibby's post-hangover coffee to a promise to keep in touch.
Despite being a little uneven and telegraphing some of its punches, "Liberal Arts" is still a bittersweet and thoughtful romantic comedy. One could almost compare it to a Woody Allen film except he has apparently forgot how to make them anymore, leaving the door open to everybody else. Second, trashy vampire novels, no matter their possible therapeutic role, could never exist in his universe. Although to be honest, "Dracula" is not a very good novel. (What? Am I the only person who took Romantic and Victorian Gothic in college?)
While "Liberal Arts" is definitely a movie of ideas, it argues genially in anti-nostalgic fashion that they do not have to all exist on a college campus. My favorite idea is Zibby's that we talk about we what we love, not waste it on what we hate. Plus, I am very fond of hand-written letters, even with my increasingly atrocious handwriting, which is how writers are created. Speaking of which, that is one really cool and well-timed Norman Mailer reference.